by Antonia Carey (Circle 4)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is well known for questioning reality. A pattern of constantly questioning of truth versus lies or dreams, veracity or deception, is established from the beginning of the play, and we see many examples of it in just the first act, and it is constantly built upon The first moment where authenticity can be questioned is the opening of the show, between Theseus and Hippolyta. Theseus is obviously impatient, but Hippolyta seems more reserved and refers to the marriage as their “solemnities.” While “solemnities” does refer to the full formal religious occasion of marriage, is also implies a dignified and serious attitude. We know that Hippolyta was Queen of the Amazon, and Theseus has told us that he won her in battle (1.1.16-17). He then says that he wants to wed her ‘in another key,’ but they only have four days for this drastic shift in their relationship to occur. The tenuousness of this relationship calls into question the nature of their affections; are they genuine love or fondness, or are the feelings being forced by the situation?
Later in that same scene, Lysander and Hermia plot to steal away from Athens in the night(1.1.156). This situation offers an interesting mix of truth and lies. They are going to cheat Egeus and Theseus of their say in Hermia’s marriage so that they can live truthfully to themselves. Were they to stay, they would have to lie and deny or suppress their love for each other. Yet, in their deception they are truthful to Helena, which later causes a great deal of complications, and makes one wonder whether this honesty was slightly misplaced. Helena’s betrayal of their plot to Demetrius is a form of deception as well; Hermia and Lysander implicitly place in her the trust of silence and secrecy, and she disregards that to gain Demetrius’s favor (1.1.246). In the same speech Helena has also told us of Demetrius’s lies to her, which Lysander also pointed out in lines 106-110. This web of lies and deception only gets more complex as the show progresses, and upon introduction of the fairies, also includes the question of where fairies and human worlds collide or separate, which is real, or if both can co-exist as reality.
Antonia,
I think your point about questioning one’s reality in this play is extremely valid. I would also like to mention that many questions arose in class in regards to why certain events occurred and why certain characters acted in such a way. Answers to these questions would minimize some of the confusion in this play, yet they’re not answered. I also agree that the wedding and commitment between Thesus and Hippolyta seems quick and possibly forced but it is important to note many of the Shakespeare’s marriages, such as the one between Hero and Claudio seem quick and forced by the circumstances as well. Maybe it’s Shakespeare signature plot point? The fairies and their antics allows the audience to question the state of reality as well.
Antonia,
I think your analysis on the giant web of lies created among the characters in the first act. While this has been talked about in other posts, I think the relationship between Theseus and Hippoltya is the first telling sign that everything should be taken with a grain of salt while reading the play. I think that your interpretation of the crazy love circle and their priorities was pretty spot on. The reasoning behind Lysander and Hermia, as you’ve shown, is deeply rooted in other lies and false fantasies.
I appreciate the contrast of truth and falsehood you bring to light. It seems as though Shakespeare decided to relate truthfulness and falsity through this manner of contrast in order to accurately depict reality the way reality functions rather than just fictionalizing reality. In order to live their lives truthfully, Hermia and Lysander had to not only lie to the Duke of Athens and Egeus, but had to physically remove themselves from the reign of patriarchal law. In doing so, the lovers create a false situation for Theseus and Egeus–a representation of the inevitable cause and effect that circulates throughout the universe. If Theseus and Egeus got their truth instead of Hermia and Lysander, the lovers in turn would be stuck in living falsely, which only emphasizes the apparent catch-22 of falsehood and truth within reality Shakespeare plays with.
Antonia,
I really liked how your blog post dealt with not only the theme of true love that is brought up so frequently in the play, but that you discussed the idea of truth overall. As you said when you discussed the fact that Lysander and Hermia choose to be honest with Helena and share with her their plan of running away in order to get married to each other, this type of truth is just as important in this story as the idea of true love. On the topic of true love itself, however, I comepletely agree with the points you’ve made about Theseus and Hippolyta. The fact that Theseus expresses his desire to woo Hippolyta indicates that he feels that he has not truly done so yet. You are correct in pointing out that if this goal were to be accomplished in the mere four days between the beginning of the play and the wedding, it is highly likely that these feelings coming from Hippolyta would not be genuine.
Antonia,
I found your post to be very interesting. I was completely focused on the patriarchal complications to fully take note on how the play questions one’s reality. As you have noted right from the beginning there seems to be an underlying theme of lies. The lies and deceiving seems to get worse as the play goes on. Lysander and Hermia plot to leave at night and get married. Hermia tells Helena of her plans but Helena then tells Demetrius, causing a lot of drama. Putting the fairies into the mix then causes even more complications with the questions of reality.
Antonia,
This play is definitely about lies and deceptions, as well as a patriarchal society. I think that Hippolyta may seem more reserved about her wedding because she came from the Amazon, a place where women ruled, and now Theseus has “defeated” her. She went from being totally against a patriarchal society to being defeated in war by a man and then getting married to that same man. The love square between Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius, and Helena is interesting as well. I understand why Lysander and Hermia felt the need to run away from Athens to get married, but I also agree that they should have told Helena. It definitely gets complicated though because then Demetrius would have found out as well and would have probably told Egeus and then there would be no story. I like that you used the phrase “web of lies and deceptions” because it definitely does feel like a web that you have to try to keep straight to understand what is going on in each moment.
Antonia,
I really enjoyed reading your post and analysis of the giant web of lies that was created throughout the play, especially those exposed towards the beginning of it. I think it’s important for readers to remember that while narrators are often not trustworthy, characters can be just as untrustworthy. I’m taking a theory class this semester and one of the ideas that came up last night (while in a different context, of course) was that lies create a sort of order, in a sense. The theorist was speaking about the government but, I feel like it’s sort of the same for a few of the lies within this play–the lie acts as a buffer to keep things calm, and once the truth is out, chaos reigns.
Antonia, your discussion of lies and truth is very interesting. I never really thought of questioning the validity in what the characters were saying, nor did I think it mattered too much. You bring up the point of Hippolyta acting rather seriously in regards to her engagement, this questions her real want to marry the Athenian God. I think this is a great point, how in reality, could Hippolyta want anything to do with Theseus?
Your analysis of the lies and truths told between the lovers is also very interesting. What they thought was harmless led them into a quarrel over each other in the faerie kingdom!